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Course Details

HIS316 - Built Environment in American History

This course examines the ways in which Americans from the colonial period to the present have shaped their physical surroundings and in turn been shaped by those built environments. It focuses on the importance of the space and place in American history by exploring the physical landscapes of large cities, small towns, rural communities, and sprawling suburbs; the development of regions like the South, the Industrial Belt, the Sunbelt, and the West; and the role of human products like farms, factories, railroads, houses, main streets, chain restaurants, and Wal-Marts. Throughout, it traces how these built environments both shaped and were shaped by individuals and communities, culture, politics, and the economy.